Saamna

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT SAAMNA - PAGE 4

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena rebel Raj Thackeray's reluctance in announcing the future course of action has left his supporters in a dilemma. His close aides fear that his cousin and Sena executive-president Uddhav Thackeray would use this time in consolidating his hold over the party. "We really do not know what is going on in his mind. We have all along been bracing ourselves to work as part of a new outfit under his leadership but do not know what is holding him back from announcing his decision," said one of his long-time supporters on Saturday.

MUMBAI: A day after the Bombay High Court quashed the appointment of AN Roy as the state's director general of police, the Opposition has stepped up the pressure on the Congress-NCP government to replace the disgraced police chief. A division bench of chief justice Swatanter Kumar and SA Bobde of the Bombay HC on Thursday directed the state government to find a new chief for the Maharashtra police within four weeks. The court said the selection process was "arbitrary", and was in violation of constitutional principle of equality and the Supreme Court's guidelines.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister AB Vajpayee on Tuesday did not forward the resignation letter of Mr Suresh Prabhu even as the chances of his continuance seemed slim. Though Mr Vajpayee and many of his colleagues were hoping that Mr Thackeray would relent giving a second reprieve to Mr Prabhu, the Sena chief remained adamant on the ouster of the power minister. The whole episode has deepened concerns in the government about the image erosion. The ouster of Mr Prabhu comes when the government was having to deal with the public relations disasters caused by pump and plot scams as well as the allegation that the communication minister had a hand in the murder of a female journalist.

MUMBAI/PUNE: Tension brewing within the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance over seat-sharing for upcoming Maharashtra assembly polls escalated today with BJP disapproving Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's statement that in the event of a saffron victory, the top post would go to his party and that he was not averse to assuming it. BJP, an all-weather ally of Shiv Sena, is rankled by Uddhav's public statement yesterday that the chief minister of Maharashtra will...

MUMBAI: While the Shiv Sena is yet to come out with an official statement regarding Sanjay Nirupam's exit, the party has a new job on its hands ? search for an executive editor for Dopahar Ka Saamna. Nirupam's name as executive editor, a post he held since the Hindi tabloid was launched in 1992, was missing today. Instead, it only carried Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's name as the editor. Till yesterday, the print line on the last page mentioned Nirupam as executive editor.

MUMBAI: In a scathing editorial, Shiv Sena's organ Saamna accused Raj Thackeray of dividing Marathi votes to help Congress win assembly elections. Saamna described the MNS chief as Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Maharashtra. "Jinnah and Muslin League divided India and got Pakistan in the name of religion. Partition led to wide spread violence and killing, and permanently wounded the Hindu psyche. Jinnah was propped up by the British. Congress party has now propped up a new Jinnah whose divide and rule game will help Congress win the elections.

NEW DELHI: Joining the corus of voices criticising the reality show 'Sach ka Saamna', yoga guru Baba Ramdev today said there was no need to promote people who were "characterless". "By giving the impression that promiscuous behaviour and infidelity was common, such programmes are promoting these tendencies. In reality, a majority of the people of our country are not the kind that appear on the show," he said. He added, such programmes have negative psychological effects, particularly on children.

PUNE: Shiv Sena on Sunday unleashed another attack on Sachin Tendulkar and compared him with Sunil Gavaskar who it hailed as a "true Maharashtrian". The attack came in an article in party mouthpiece 'Saamna' by Sena MP Sanjay Raut days after party supremo Bal Thackeray accused the 36-year-old cricket icon of hurting Marathi sentiments with his "Mumbai for all" remark. Comparing Tendulkar to Gavaskar (60), Raut alleged, "There has been no instance of Sachin extending a helping hand to other Marathi cricketers.

MUMBAI: Barely 24 hours after the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna questioned the Gujarati community's contribution towards Maharashtra's development and alleged that they don't even celebrate Maharashtra Day, the party's youth wing chief and Bal Thackeray's grandson Aditya Thackeray said on Friday that all's well and that the article was, in fact, "completely misconstrued and twisted". But despite Junior Thackeray's assertions, some Sena leaders have admitted that there's a growing tension between the Sena and Gujarati community in Mumbai, especially after BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's solo rally in the city, where the Sena wasn't invited.

NEW DELHI: Reliance Media Works is expanding the base of its multiplex arm Big Cinemas by adding up to 50 screens in southern and eastern regions within a year. Big Cinemas is part of the Reliance ADAG group. "We are expanding at Coimbatore, Vizag, Chennai, Bangaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata in East. we are looking to add up to 50 screens in next one year. They would be three screen and five screen theatres," Reliance Media Works Chief Executive Officer Venkatesh Roddam told PTI. However, he did not share investment details.